Zahra Bahrololoumi, CEO Salesforce UK & I | Britain's AI Skills Gap

Thanks to Salesforce for Partnering on this episode, check out our new AI report here: https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/salesforce-ai-poll

In this episode of Jimmy’s Jobs of the Future, Jimmy interviews Zahra at Salesforce’s new AI centre in London’s Devonshire Square, discussing careers, AI adoption, and skills. Zahra shares her first job in a pizza place, an early ambition to become a diplomat blocked by 1990s eligibility rules, and a 22-year career at Andersen Consulting/Accenture before moving to Salesforce. They discuss polling with Focal Data showing 51% of people have received no employer AI training and concerns about a widening digital divide. Zahra explains Salesforce’s focus on enterprise AI grounded in trusted company data with guardrails, the value of a physical AI centre for collaboration, and how she uses an internal AI Slackbot for daily task lists and meeting prep while staying critical and authentic. They cover AI benefits for mid-market firms, a Simplyhealth contact-centre example, and Salesforce’s Future Trailblazers schools program and call for a national “front door” for skills like Trailhead.

00:00 Intro 00:50 Inside Salesforce's New AI Centre 01:41 My First Job: Making Pizzas for £5 an Hour 03:48 From Diplomacy Dreams to Big Tech 06:31 Britain's AI Training Problem 09:07 Why Salesforce Built an AI Hub 10:46 How I Use AI Every Day 14:21 Why Authenticity Still Matters 15:07 The Priorities Every CEO Must Balance 16:15 Is an AI Divide Emerging? 17:40 Why Businesses Still Don't Trust AI 19:01 The Companies Winning With AI 22:23 Buy Commodity, Build to Differentiate 23:16 Which Skills Will Matter in the AI Era? 26:24 What I Look For When Hiring 30:07 A National Plan for AI Skills 32:40 Sending 1,000 Employees Into Schools 34:12 My Unexpected Dream Job 35:42 Final Thoughts

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